Mourning A Great Loss

We've had an extremely tough time in our house this week. A very near and dear friend of our's was suddenly lost. I've been walking around the house for days, scratching my head, wondering if there was anything I could have done. I just feel so helpless.

I guess the worst part is the initial shock...and the dashed hopes of all that I thought was left to be done between us. We really were a great team. We loved to spend our mornings baking, cleaning, or blogging. And just recently, we even started gardening. It's all so very sad.

Sweet friend, I realize we do not have control over our time together and while I feel our time was cut short, it is simply how it was supposed to be. So rather than wallow in your loss, I will recall you as the one who shared my hard work, my laughter, my tears, but most importantly my babies sweet dreams through this amazing year. You have served our family well, good friend, and for that we are forever grateful.

Good bye two-naps a day. We'll all greatly miss you.

Brotherly Love

Well-Baby Visit and Update

The Deuce had their one year well-baby visit last Friday. We were already a little delayed due to their adjusted age, but their bout with RSV a couple months ago helped delay us even more. As usual, they weighed them, checked length, and head circumference. These were their stats:

Ben:

16.6lbs

27"

44cm head circumference

Abe:

20.6lbs-10%

29"-10%

45cm head circumference-10%

So just like their 6 month appointment, Abe is right on track in terms of meeting milestones and the growth chart. As for our Benny boy, still not so much. I wish I could say that all parties are still not concerned and time is all he needs but it appears that it is no longer the case. In fact, Friday we spent quite a bit of time talking with Dr. K about Ben, his weight and his milestones. It seems the doc feels that it is time to make contact with UNMH's Early Childhood Evaluation Program (ECEP) and have Ben evaluated for physical therapy. Dr. K seems to think that Ben suffers from Hypotonia, or low muscle tone, as a result of his prematurity. Rather than wait another 6 months to see if it improves, he wants to take a more proactive approach. Basically, PT would help him gain muscle tone and hopefully help him to excel at a faster rate than he would otherwise do on his own. Right now, we're in the preliminary stages of making contact with ECEP and then we wait for them to come out and meet with us. There is an incredibly long waiting list so the evaluation could take as long as August.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't experiencing a mix of emotions. However, in those emotions, I am still strongly clinging to God's sovereign will and what it means for our lives. So while I do not know exactly what the future holds for Ben, what I do know and trust is that he will do ALL that God intended him to do. No more. No less. Praise God for His perfect provision in our lives.

Look Ma! No hands!

This is Ben's newest crazy baby trick! He does this all by himself. His daddy and I think it's pretty snazzy. What can I say? We have such gifted boys.

Roly-Polies

Just another Tuesday lunch hanging at the park with some of our favorite friends! The boys got to spend some time in the sunshine and then some silly rolling time with their Auntie Woo.

This Picture...

makes my Monday.

UPDATED TO ADD: This picture makes my Monday because it is the ONE PLACE that still safely confines my curious and extremely mobile little boys :)

Coal Miner's Daughter?

This morning, in the brief moment I stepped out of the room, absolute bedlam erupted.

I'm talking universe shifting, total chaos, people.

Okay, maybe not that much. But I did feel the earth move a little under my feet.

But maybe that's because I was sprinting to the bedroom with a soot covered toddler in tow to ask his daddy if eating ashes requires a call to poison control.

I have no idea how to punctuate that last sentence.

OH, WHAT A LOVELY START TO OUR SUNDAY!

So here's what happened. And I might add, there's a photo tutorial ONLY because I happened have my camera two hops from where this took place. I was already taking pics of The Deuce this morning otherwise I wouldn't have bothered to leave the flesh of my flesh burrowing deeper into peril just so I could grab the memory box. I generally look down on photo op's that endanger small children. So anyway....

I returned from the bathroom only to find my first born frolicking in our fireplace.

Look at his face. He knew he was frolicking too.

Very cute, but very naughty.

Just like the dog, he wouldn't even look me in the eye.

Anyone got a Tide-to-Go pen?! Anyone? Anyone?

And I guess bathroom breaks for mom are now on the negoiating table. Sheesh.

A Small Confession

I have a problem. It starts here...

It's my recipe box. Simple enough, right? Let's look deeper... Still not too bad, right? Well, let's pull some of the guilty parties out. Like this naughty one...

Or this bad boy...

Or this imposter...

It's bad. Very, very bad. So bad, in fact, that legendary family recipes have been lost in that tragedy of a recipe box. So I decided to combine two things I love. Baking and blogging. I figure if I can s.l.o.w.l.e.y post recipes that I love onto a blog, they will be nice and neat and kept in order forever and ever. Amen.

Some of you have already "found" me. Some of you haven't. Some of you could absolutely, positively care less. But in the event that you're interested in at least checking it out, you can find my recipe box regeneration project over at www.chowcity.blogspot.com. I hope to see you there!

He is Risen!

B&A-6 weeks old

A&B-13 1/2 months old. Look closely, those are the same baskets!

No matter how sweet your Easter basket was this year, our family's hope is that you know the sweet forgiveness that is in Christ Jesus! Happy Resurrection Sunday!

The Boy Who Cried Wolf Nap

This is the face of the little boy who cried and cried yesterday in place of his afternoon nap.

Check out those slits for eyes. He was soooo tired he almost couldn't keep his eyes open. Almost.

So I did what any rational mother would do. I got him up. And then I covered him in the laundry he was delaying me from folding.
I covered him. And covered him. And covered him some more. I covered him until he threw his hands up in admitted defeat.
But that's not all. Not wanting him to soon forget his lesson, I let his daddy have a turn with him when he got home. Just check out where that thumb is digging in and you'll know EXACTLY what kind of conversation they had.
Let's just hope it sunk in this time. I would really hate to have to go through this again. It's just not fun for any of us.

An Overdue Update

Things have become increasingly interesting around here lately. One of the most interesting things being naptime. As both boys are now standing in their cribs, they find it rather hilarious to stand and shriek at each other for the first twenty or thirty minutes of their naps. Ben also uses this time to practice his words and usually a slew of "Ebb! Hi! Baby! Ebb!" accompany the shrieking. In addition to the crib railing banter, they have also discovered that they can toss their lovies, blankets and pacis out of their cribs AND sharpen their fangs teeth on the crib railing. Usually their room looks like a hurricane has hit it whenever I go in to get them up and the notches in the wood tell me how long they've been awake. You know, kinda like a prisoner makes strikes on his cell wall?! Oh, but it sure is sweet to see those sweet little smiling faces bobbing up and down when I open that door. If only I could bottle that up.

Another interesting change is the fact that we have a walker! Abe has been working on his footwork for a couple months now, but it hasn't been until recently that he's spent more time up than down. He's really getting fast at manuvering around the house and we think it's just precious that he has his little "paths." He's close to standing from a sitting position but finds it pretty difficult to squat and pick something up. I have no doubt that in another couple weeks though, I'll probably be blogging something completely different. Everyday, he's getting better and better. I'm sure the days of running are closer than we care to think!

As for Ben, he's pulling up and starting to cruise. It's proved to be a bit more difficult with Ben because he hasn't yet figured out how to fall. He usually goes over like a ton of bricks which leads to a bonk on the head-or worse. I'm still trying to learn how to respond calmly and wait for his reaction before I rush over and scoop him up. SO easier said than done! Ben is also quite the little social bug. Recently, he enjoys being picked up by anyone and everyone. He says "Hi!" to strangers as they pass us by. If they so much as cast him a glance, he turns on the smiling. It's all over then. They are putty in his hands.

The boys have also been done with pureed foods for about the two months. In fact, we are finding if the food is too squishy, they sometimes spit it back out! They also don't really like to be fed. They want to feed themselves-to which the dog says, "AMEN-TABLE SCRAPS!" Some of their favorite finger foods are cubed cheese, ham, peas, black beans, scrambled eggs, bagels and oranges. They really love the citrus! It's also been really fun to see how their different tastes are already starting to emerge. Abe loves the cheese and Ben's all about the fruit! Over all they really are good eaters and haven't turned down much. Although I'm sure it will change a million times, for the moment I attribute their curious taste buds to their daddy's genes! However, one peculiar thing is that they are refusing to eat their beloved bananas! The just flat out refuse. Cubed, pureed, mixed in-forget it. They are smart and they know when they are being duped! I guess I overdid it.

This next week we will also be saying goodbye to the infant carriers and switching the boys over to the Britax Marathons. Hello and goodbye $600.oo!! It's worth the investment, or so we've been told, because these are the last carseats that we'll have to buy because they make the stretch to 65lbs. Ay-yay-yay, 65 pounders in carseats seems strange, doesn't it?! Anyway, it's done and to those of you who contributed to the carseat fund, we salute you. And thank you. And we'll post a picture of the boys in their new rides so you can see the goods.

We've also found that recently, down time and the days of ease are a thing of the past. The boys are non-stop, on the go, and usually into something they shouldn't. I often joke that the washing machine door is like the recess bell. I open it and they come running! They also love to get into the wipes, baby powder, refrigerator and 6 decks of cards that we have in a spare cabinet. Needless to say, I'm really feeling the double-duty these days, especially since they are so fast. Before I can finish moving one, the other is usually into the off-limits item.

While so much work, these days are still filled with such love and laughter! I really don't think a day goes by that I am not just amazed at these little people and filled with such gratefulness for them! Even though they may make me crazy sometimes with their cornstarch disasters and their non-napping, I just can't imagine life without them. I love my boys. I love my family.

Triple the Twins

Today we met some friends for a playdate. The company- two other sets of twins!

It was a twin-sane day. No really, it was.

Look what my display said was playing on the radio. (Do-do-do-do. Do-do-do-do.)

Our buddy, B, holding on for the ride.My Ben.
B, Z and Ben

E and Abe, grocery shopping

Abe, Ben and questionable Barrett boy :)

Snack time!

It usually goes really fast. It's ALWAYS kinda crazy. But it sure is fun!

I